Flood — Rockingham, North Carolina

2024-09-18 · near Bakers Xrds, Rockingham, North Carolina

Event narrative

The Dan River at Wentworth, NC (WENN7) crested at 19.96 feet (19,400 cfs) at 7:15 AM EDT on Sept. 18th (18/1115 UTC) due to runoff from heavy rain falling the evening prior. This is the highest crest on the river since January 2024. This crest rates between a 2-year and a 5-year Average Recurrence Interval (ARI), or between a 50% and a 20% Annual Exceedance Probability per USGS StreamStats. The flooding was the result of between 5 and locally 8 inches of rain that fell across portions of Stokes and Rockingham Counties upstream from the gage on the 17th.

Wider weather episode

A stationary front draped east to west across northern North Carolina provided the focus for training showers and thunderstorms during the evening of the 17th. Winds were from the east along the North Carolina & Virginia state border around high pressure centered over New England. The easterly windflow carried moist Atlantic air across Stokes and Rockingham Counties, with precipitable water values ranging from 1.5 to 1.7 inches during the evening. Several rounds of showers and storms passed across the area, with rainfall rates times exceeding four inches per hour per rain gage data and MRMS (Multi-Radar/Multi-Sensor System) estimates. This caused flash flooding of several local waterways, with at least two roads washed out in Stokes County, as well as a water rescue of stranded motorists.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.4165, -79.8410)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1218732. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.